Teachade - A Growing Community Of Teachers

I recently received an email from Ben at Teachade asking me to take a look at their website and maybe make a few suggestions as to how they can improve it. As I'm always keen to find new places which may make my life in the classroom easier, I went for a mooch around!

Upon arrival, it looks a bit basic, the sort of site you would probably think didn't have a lot on it. If I am honest, had I not been asked to make some suggestions, I would have probably closed the window. But, because I'm lovely, I started clicking!

The site's mission statement says:

Our mission here is to provide you with a web site that supports your
professional work, and provides an engaging place to discuss teaching.

The first thing I tried was a resource search. You just type in what your looking for. My first few attempts using my Year 1 topic titles came back with nothing. I then tried the subject names and there are a few links to some good websites which have been added by the members of Teachade.

To access the groups - a term I was not familiar with - you need to register, which is really simple. There are absolutely loads of different groups which basically turn out to be message boards rather like the TES Staffroom, but more specific. The groups range from Early Years to Senior School and some are subject specific. There is also a Teachade help group where they will reply to your queries about using the site.

At the moment, most of the groups are American, but the membership still seems quite small. I am sure as more people join, the groups will gain a more international flavour. You can also add your own lesson ideas, websites you would like to share with the rest of us and even links to your own blog or website.

I sent my suggestions to Ben and he was already working on the ideas I had - not very original am I?

I found the site to be very small but I think it has heaps of potential. Once more people join and begin contributing, it should prove really useful. But it needs members to make it work, so have a look yourself at www.teachade.com

Deb